US DoJ appeals fractional licensing copyright case

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has appealed against a decision made in September by a New York federal judge that performing rights organisation Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) may use “fractional licensing”.

Mike O’Neill, president and CEO of BMI, said that the organisation was not surprised by the decision to file an appeal. “It is unfortunate that the DOJ continues to fight for an interpretation of BMI’s consent decree that is at odds with hundreds of thousands of songwriters and composers, the country’s two largest performing rights organisations, numerous publishers and members of the music community, members of Congress, a US governor, the US Copyright Office and, in Judge Stanton, a federal judge,” he said.